Norse Thor v. Marvel Thor

Thor, Odin, Loki – everyone knows the Marvel Universe didn’t come up with these guys. The gods of Asgard, and the Nine Realms, came from Norse mythology.

And hey, things in the comic book world can get pretty weird – adopted frost giants, battles over the throne, Dark Magic, the Tesseract.

But what you might not know is that the Norse myths are pretty damn weird themselves. Check it out.

Five Differences Between Marvel Thor & Norse God Thor

1.Worthy? More Like Strong.

In the movies, only the worthy can wield Mjolnir. So, the magical hammer also serves as a judge of moral character.

Sorry, Tony!

Not so in the myths.

Being worthy has absolutely nothing to do with it. Thor gets the hammer for exactly one reason: He’s the biggest, baddest, and strongest of all the Ӕsir (the gods of Asgard), and giving Mjolnir to Thor is their best defense against the Frost Giants.

This means just about anyone could use Mjolnir… if they could get it away from Thor!

2. Sorry, Jane Foster…

With apologies to all the women of Midgard… Thor is married to Sif, a fertility goddess with long, golden hair.

But… I thought we had a thing…

And he’s got kids – with his wife Sif, with his mistress Jarnsaxa – Thor has kids all over the place.

Thor may also be Sif’s second husband. The Edda says Thor is the step-father of Sif’s son Ullr, implying Sif had children before she married Thor.

3. And Am I Not Your Mother?

Thor is the son of Odin in both the movies and the myths.

But in the myths, Thor is not the son of Odin’s wife Frigga. Instead, Thor is the son of Odin and the Earth itself.

The Earth is Odin’s daughter AND wife, just to make things a little more twisted.

Side note: Odin’s got strange tastes.

4. Super Power: Drinking!

In one of his many adventures with the giants, Thor ends up in the halls of Utgarda-Loki (not to be confused with this Loki). Utgarda-Loki asks Thor which of his many talents he’d be willing to use in a contest with the giants.

Thor choses DRINKING!

The giants trick him by handing him a horn that’s actually filled with the ocean. And Thor drinks so much he actually lowers the ocean.

Way to booze, God of Thunder.

5. His Son is Even Tougher

In another (mis)adventure with the giants, Thor defeats the giant Hrungnir. But after the battle he’s pinned under the giant’s leg.

All the Ӕsir come together to free Thor, but none of them are strong enough to lift the monster. Until Thor’s son Magni shows up, throws off the leg, and apologizes for being so late.

The kicker? Magni is three years old.

Magni and his brother Modi also survive Ragnarök, and they bring Mjolnir with them to the new world.

Want More Thor?

Do yourself a favor and check out the original source – this is a great translation.